We need a Mad Men meeting, Stat. **Spoilers**

[dev22]

WTMF???

If Peggy is going to be off the show I will be PISSED.

I totally get why she left, and I believe it is the best option for her, but NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

[moreace01]

Between Peggy and Joan, this might be the most disturbing Mad Men episode ever.

[dev22]

May 27, 2012 22:33:31 GMT -5 moreace01 said:

Between Peggy and Joan, this might be the most disturbing Mad Men episode ever.

NO shit. But it did make me like Don even more. He was the only partner that stood up for Joan. Although Joan is now set and will never have to rely on a man again, so I can see why she did it. It will be interesting to see if it affects her, or if she is able to move on.

[bronxgirl]

I don't think Peggy is gone for good. I thought it was an interesting creativew decision to show Don coming to her apt trying to talk her out of it and you find out later she already went through with it.

[moreace01]

I've never been more disgusted with Pete.

The ad pitch footage playing at the same time that Joan was with the Jaguar guy almost had me in tears. It was so disgusting.

And as for Peggy - she's too much of a main character - no way she's gone. But she absolutely made the right move and Don knows it.

Finally - Megan is still acting like a child.

[josieposy]

I can't believe Roger allowed that to go on. I honestly thought he would have put his foot down too.

Seeing Pete read to his kid after that discussion with Joan was just creepy all around.

My heart hurts for Joan, but I was giddy as hell that Peggy stuck to her guns.

[Deleted]

I love Peggy. She is my favorite tv character ever.

Also,I love Memorial Day weekend, which means I don't have to avoid spoiler threads for a week.

[pescalita]

That was intense.

Wasn't Joan wearing green when Greg raped her? And the black dress reminded me of the flashback where Roger gave her the fur.

I don't think Peggy will be happy at CGC. It was the right thing to do for her career, but I think she'll find it doesn't matter as much, and that's what she really loved.

[Deleted]

I didn't notice the color thing, pesca. But I think you're right about Peggy. I believe her re: the decision being hard. I don't think she wanted to go, but she had to.

[Deleted]

May 27, 2012 22:33:31 GMT -5 moreace01 said:

Between Peggy and Joan, this might be the most disturbing Mad Men episode ever.

Right?? I am still WTF about it

[OscarQ]

May 27, 2012 22:43:13 GMT -5 dev22 said:

Although Joan is now set and will never have to rely on a man again, so I can see why she did it. It will be interesting to see if it affects her, or if she is able to move on.

I don't thing she's set and won't have to rely on a man again. I have a feeling Lane has sunk the company with the LOC extension. 5% of nothing...

[moreace01]

May 28, 2012 7:13:19 GMT -5 OscarQ said:

May 27, 2012 22:43:13 GMT -5 dev22 said:

Although Joan is now set and will never have to rely on a man again, so I can see why she did it. It will be interesting to see if it affects her, or if she is able to move on.

I don't thing she's set and won't have to rely on a man again. I have a feeling Lane has sunk the company with the LOC extension. 5% of nothing...

I agree with this.

And additionally, Jaguar is now a client. I don't think this guy is going to just go away.

[dev22]

May 28, 2012 9:21:58 GMT -5 moreace01 said:

May 28, 2012 7:13:19 GMT -5 OscarQ said:

I don't thing she's set and won't have to rely on a man again. I have a feeling Lane has sunk the company with the LOC extension. 5% of nothing...

I agree with this.

And additionally, Jaguar is now a client. I don't think this guy is going to just go away.

Huh, yeah, now that I think about it you are probably right. I was trying to make myself feel better about the whole thing, because this was a freaking hard episode to stomach.

[shouldbworkin]

Damn! I forgot last night was Sunday! At least I have something good waiting on my DVR for tonight.

[ESF]

As disturbing as the episode was, I think it was the best one all season, and one of the better ones in the series. The scene were Don pitched Jaguar/Joan and that guy was so well done.

The scene where Megan was in the audition and they had her turn around was pretty sketch...did anyone get the feeling like there may have been a little sleep-with-me-and-you'll-get-the-part going on there too?

[dev22]

May 28, 2012 14:13:52 GMT -5 ESF said:

As disturbing as the episode was, I think it was the best one all season, and one of the better ones in the series. The scene were Don pitched Jaguar/Joan and that guy was so well done.

The scene where Megan was in the audition and they had her turn around was pretty sketch...did anyone get the feeling like there may have been a little sleep-with-me-and-you'll-get-the-part going on there too?

yeah, I got that feeling. I also think she isn't get the part because she wouldn't do whatever it is that they wanted her too.

[ESF]

May 28, 2012 14:42:20 GMT -5 dev22 said:

May 28, 2012 14:13:52 GMT -5 ESF said:

As disturbing as the episode was, I think it was the best one all season, and one of the better ones in the series. The scene were Don pitched Jaguar/Joan and that guy was so well done.

The scene where Megan was in the audition and they had her turn around was pretty sketch...did anyone get the feeling like there may have been a little sleep-with-me-and-you'll-get-the-part going on there too?

yeah, I got that feeling. I also think she isn't get the part because she wouldn't do whatever it is that they wanted her too.

Such an interesting contrast with Joan.

I think she doesn't want to tell Don because Don would probably never let her go to another audition again.

[dev22]

May 28, 2012 14:44:56 GMT -5 ESF said:

May 28, 2012 14:42:20 GMT -5 dev22 said:

yeah, I got that feeling. I also think she isn't get the part because she wouldn't do whatever it is that they wanted her too.

Such an interesting contrast with Joan.

I think she doesn't want to tell Don because Don would probably never let her go to another audition again.

holy typos, batman! Sorry, on my phone. Anyhoodle, I totally agree. He already doesnt want her doing this, if he knew what was actually going on she would never go to another audition.

[summer]

Best episode this season. Loved Don kissing Peggy's hand.

And WTMF with Roger letting this go. I didn't expect that at all.

Wonder how Kenny will react to Peggy's leaving. And she has to compete against Ginsberg now.

Thought this was an interesting recap:

mobile.oregonlive.com/advorg/pm_29235/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=AfZiVLPe


Women as underlings, sex objects, housewives, pioneers, trailblazers, rebels and now power-play negotiators: From the beginning, "Mad Men" has never been afraid to show the sexism that was woven into the American grain, and how women absorbed it and responded to it.

Some were seemingly resigned to their roles, though cracks were appearing (Betty). Others knew where they stood and how to use the tools they were given (Joan). Still others came of age just in time to question the old ways, and push back against them (Peggy).

Sunday's "Mad Men" episode, "The Other Woman," brought this underlying story to a head, as Joan, Peggy and Megan -- the transitional female figure, too young to have the old stereotypes as part of her DNA -- all made their own version of power plays. While much of the drama seemed to be about the men at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce doing whatever it took to win the Jaguar account -- a male-dominated pitch to sell the ultimate male-fantasy car -- the much bigger story was the women in their orbit standing up for themselves, as themselves. Not as proteges, wives, mistresses, but as people willing to do what it takes to pursue their own agendas. Just like the men.

Where does this leave Don, who has been accustomed to getting his way with pretty much any woman he encountered? Off-balance, trying to sort out how to give Megan the freedom to go after an acting career; making a too-little, too-late appeal to his bond with Peggy to keep her at the agency; and trying to do the right thing by Joan, only to see he's been out-maneuvered.

"The Other Woman" is one of the best episodes of the season, and while it picks up the ongoing questions facing each of its characters -- what do you want? Do you know what you want? -- the female characters really rocked their worlds, each in their own individual ways:

Joan: Just as the characters on "Mad Men" may have underestimated Joan in the past, I suspect some viewers haven't given Christina Hendricks her due as an actress. Her epic curves and va-va-voom abundance speak volumes about Joan, but Hendricks' performance isn't about her measurements. She's at her best when going toe-to-toe with the strongest actors in the cast -- Jon Hamm, John Slattery and Jared Harris -- but she makes everyone around her better. Witness the scene in her office when Pete tries to manipulate her into volunteering to spend the night with Herb, the schlubby head of the auto dealers association. Herb has insinuated that he'll throw his influence regarding the Jaguar account to SCDP if he gets a night with Joan.

Pete thinks he's being cagey with how he presents this option to Joan -- can she find the words to tell the staff that they're losing the Jaguar account? But she sees right through his flimsy veneer of sleaze. Vincent Kartheiser is wonderfully reprehensible, showing that Pete was naive and cocky enough to think this routine would work. After she's told him, "You're talking about prostitution," all he's left with is a feeble, "I hope I haven't insulted you. That's all that matters."

While there was inherent melodrama in the dilemma of Joan being asked/expected to/maybe could be persuaded to prostitute herself for the sake of the company, what's best about the episode is how this resolved. On the one hand, it's sad that Don's stab at being noble, by coming to Joan's apartment to tell her she doesn't need to do this comes -- as we learn in a tricky editing ploy -- actually comes too late. But there's more to it. Joan has taken advice dispensed by Lane (with his own monetary embarrassment in mind) to broker a minority partnership for herself out of this. From a moral standpoint, this is all rather icky. But as a bit of corporate power-playing, it seems to work. At the end of the episode, as SCDP wins the Jaguar account, all the players are aware of their roles. Don sees what Joan did, which undermines his belief in his own creative pitching as the savior of the account; she is in the room for the first time as at least an approximate equal to the powers that be; and she knows that even Roger was acquiescent in essentially pimping her, as were the rest of them, except Don.

Peggy: All season long, our trailblazing female copy writer has found herself relegated to a position plenty of women still struggle with: she has responsibility for getting the work done, but not enough responsibility to wield real power. Don, her mentor, has been checked out, wrapped up in Megan and only belatedly paying attention to work. Peggy has been soldiering on, dealing with her male colleagues, working long hours and late nights, and getting precious little credit or fun out of her efforts.

So, when Peggy shares coffee and pie with Freddy Rumsen, and he encourages her to look around for another job, she's receptive. Never mind that Freddy drops in a mention that he'll be trying to get the gig she'll be leaving at SCDP. She becomes fixated on the idea of moving on. After all, early in the episode, Don is so impatient with her that he throws money at her face, a probably too-spot-on parallel to the mistress/prostitute motif that runs through "The Other Woman." So she takes the leap. While everyone else is celebrating winning Jaguar, Peggy wants a moment with Don. The timing is off, as their timing has been all season. Don tries to guilt-trip her back into the fold -- another woman who's challenging his authority? But it doesn't work. She stands above him, in the power position, as he sits in a chair. She makes an awkward motion to shake hands, and he takes her hand, holds it and kisses it. Elisabeth Moss and Hamm are lovely in this scene, her trying to hold back her emotion, him surrendering to it. Then, Peggy heads toward the elevator. The only other one who sees her go? Joan.

Megan: Don is a man of his time, which means he's offended by the idea that Megan (Jessica Pare) should be gone for three months working on a play. While she's unhappy about his resistance, she doesn't back down. But he's not a total antique, and he tries to come around to her way of thinking, even though it clearly unsettles him that she should have independence, and a life beyond being his accessory. He's trying to say the right things. Even if he doesn't know how to feel about it.

Speaking of Sex Objects: In an episode as perceptive and intelligent as this, did we really need to see Megan's actress buddy suggestively crawling around on a table, while the agency guys ogled her and the camera ogled her black panties? I may not be a partner, but I vote no.

[summer]

And not knowing much about the acting world, I would have also been shocked at my spouse needing to be away 3 mos. It didn't seem like Megan mentioned Boston but expected him to just know that?

[pescalita]

May 28, 2012 15:50:30 GMT -5 summer said:

And not knowing much about the acting world, I would have also been shocked at my spouse needing to be away 3 mos. It didn't seem like Megan mentioned Boston but expected him to just know that?

Yeah, I don't know if that was on purpose to make Don look like not so much of an ass, but I really don't think it's unreasonable to assume that your actor spouse won't have to travel for work when you live in New York of all places.

[ttt]

May 28, 2012 16:39:18 GMT -5 pescalita said:

May 28, 2012 15:50:30 GMT -5 summer said:

And not knowing much about the acting world, I would have also been shocked at my spouse needing to be away 3 mos. It didn't seem like Megan mentioned Boston but expected him to just know that?

Yeah, I don't know if that was on purpose to make Don look like not so much of an ass, but I really don't think it's unreasonable to assume that your actor spouse won't have to travel for work when you live in New York of all places.

For real. I was definitely Team Don on that one.

But then I can't stand Megan, so I may be biased.

Overall, this episode was OMG OMG OMG!! Tell me Peggy isn't leaving the show!!!!